Monday, December 19, 2011

the other day my son came in with a pink nose and yelled "MOM! I'M FREEEEEZING! do you still have that rice bag thing you made? can you heat it up?"
yeah i still have my rice bag feet warmer i use it all the time, because i'm like always cold.
so i said "yeah, i have it, hold on." i heated it up, gave it to him. as that son was warming up with oohs and ahhs coming out of his mouth, another one of my sons walked in from outside with pink nose in tow, and complained "hey i want that!"
they proceeded to fight over it...
and well at that moment the light bulb went off.

"stop it. i'm going to make you each rice hand warmers."

i started and then couldn't stop making them.

trust me you wont be able to make just one set either, you'll be making a mountain of them because of how cute they are, but also because you'll need to make extras for extra little(or big) hands that will seek shelter and warmth from being in the cold.
it's already been known to happen over here. true story.

*these are also great last minute neighbor and teacher gifts. :)

ready to make your own?materials needed for one set of hand warmers:
*grab some rice (i used white long grain, because that's what we eat)

*scrap of fabric (it just needs to be enough to fold over to cut out 1 strip (double fold) at 3 1/2" x 6"
*those strips of fabric cut again in half at 3 1/2" x 3"

to assemble hand warmers:

1. place right sides together for both sets of squares.

2. using a 1/4" seam allowance sew along one side of your squares.

**instead of doing each hand warmer separately, *chain* your squares.to chain your squares sew your first seam and then instead of cutting the threads, place your next square to be sewn. you will end up with a couple of stitches that will not sew onto any fabric, hence making a chain.

this will be helpful is you are doing a lot of hand warmers.

3. after you have sewn one side on all your squares, you can cut your *chain* like the picture above.

*here is a picture of all the squares having one side sewn and then had the chain cut.
4. sew three sides of your squares (using the chain method for each side)
5. the fourth side sew your seam and leave a 1 1/2" opening in the middle of your seam. (back stitch at the opening so it does not rip open for the following steps.

6. once all four sides are sewn, cut at an angle your corners making sure you do not cut through the "X" your seams make.
7. turn inside out, and using a pin pull out your corners as much as you can.

8. for filling we are using rice, so you will want to get your rice and if you have a funnel use it to get the rice inside the opening. (i made my own out of paper shaped into a funnel)

8. fill up your hand warmer at least 3/4 full.

9. and hand stitch closed.

WARMING INSTRUCTIONS:
*warm in the microwave for 15 seconds.
*hold in your hands and warm up your digits.
*can also be used as eye packs (freeze them for cool packs, or warm them for warm packs)
*i do not recommend heating them up for longer amounts than 15 seconds as it may cause burns on skin.

so far these have been a huge hit at our house, and at the neighbor's house, and with my kid's friends that have come over.

i am including this Warning with these little guys:

**WARNING**i can not be held responsible for boys using these as hacky saks and or pelting mechanisms. because trust me...mine have and yours probably will too. ALSO: in cases where some of the hand warmers go missing...please go look in your daughter's playhouse...because they make really cute barbie pillows.

consider yourselves warned.
i hope your house enjoys them as much as our house has.
we'll talk soon

I have made these for sore muscles. They are great. However, if you really want to make them practical. make the rice filled bag with muslin (or "ugly" fabric) and then make a cover for them that can be washed.

You gave me an idea too....I am making a rice foot warmer for my bed! My feet are always cold at bedtime.

I just made 20 sets with fleece to send to the USO to put into Christmas boxes for troops overseas. Those tough guys get cold, pink noses, too.Thanks for the tutorial, though. It's great to have quick and easy ideas for the last-minute "oops" gifts I inevitably end up with. :)

I have 2 bags (slightly smaller than your foot warmer bag) and 2 kids. They both love to have me heat them up before they go to bed...gets their sheets warm and they can hug them until they fall asleep. When it's my turn, I put one over my feet and hug the other one :)

What kind of rice? How long do they stay warm? I was at an outdoor event last night and even though I had (what I thought were good) gloves on, my hands were freezing. It'd be rough to take them to an event without knowing they'd go cold a half hour later.

So simple! So cute! We all have our own rice bags but I never thought to make the small hand warmer versions. I will so be making a set for my drummer son. His hands get so cold when he plays in the pep band for football games. Thanks for sharing!

I made about 100 pair of these for a craft fair last month! I had about 40 pair leftover but one of my son's teachers bought a bunch of them to pair up with a pair of gloves to give to her teacher friends for when they're out on playground duty this winter. Thought that was a great idea.... so for any of you looking for easy teacher gifts these would be perfect!

My 12 year old daughter informed me she wanted to do gifts for her siblings. We've never done this with our kids before, but since she's been having a hard time getting along, and it was her idea to do something nice for them, I jumped at the chance!! I remembered seeing this and thougth it would be perfect for her to do. She's doing now, as I type this. Thank you sharing your wonderfully easy tutorial! Merry Chrismtas!!!

I am thinking of scheduling this as a wintry day sewing project with my 7 year old daughter. Do you think it would be alright to keep them for an hour or two in a small crockpot set to warm? Then they would all ready when the kids come in from the cold! Now if it would just *snow* already!

My kids love these! I have gone so far as to use the lonely sock... you know the one who ends up with no mate! It's perfect. I just fill it with rice and tie a knot in the end. Of course, if I was a great mommy, I'd sew closed the end!!! :) Smiles, and thanks for a great tutorial!

I have made these for years, but as neck warmers,first I scent the rice in pactic pans with either potporri liquid, jst keep stirring it around until all absorbed/dried. I make a 5-6 in wide tube approx 18-22 inches long out of fleece on the surger and put about a 1/2-3/4 cup of rice in then sew a seam across about 4-6 inches up....keep adding rice til the end, usually get 5 sections...microwave for 45-60 seconds and they stay warm on your neck or wherever placed fro 30-45 minutes....

Does anyone know how long the heat lasts when in a pocket or gloves? I realize they will cool off quicker if it is colder but maybe some personal experience with lasting power? I've had the store chemical packs last 24 hours because they keep generating heat but clearly these will have constant heat loss with no renewal so will cool quicker.

Absolutely love the idea. I wish I had known about these a couple of years back when I was on dialysis. When on dialysis your body, especially hands and feet, get sooo cold. I used store bought hand warms. I am no longer on dialysis, but love the people there. I am going to start making many of them today! Thanks so much for sharing.Kim

I love the pink cabled mittens in the first photo. They show up in a couple of your posts. Did yo knit them yourself? Do you have the pattern? I would love to make them myself. Also I love your site!!! Your style! The photos are great, and the projects are amazing.

Somebody stop me!! I am addicted to making these! Everyone I know is getting a pair...or two! I am making some about 7 inches long and adding lavender oil to the rice to use as eye packs for headaches and the like.

Thank you for this useful tutorial. It is an easy beginner project so I have included it on my blog post today which is a compilation of sewing projects for boys. http://www.blueradish.com.au/ten-things-to-sew-with-boys/